Have you ever heard the saying, “Walk a mile in someone's shoes?” Let’s consider this action, literally, for a moment, and make that “someone” your average house fly. For the sake of this analogy, let's call this hypothetical fly Pesky. Now Pesky the fly starts his day out without a care in the world, buzzing around the neighborhood. As his little tummy rumbles, he decides to stop for breakfast at the local dump, and within a few minutes of scouting, he finds it! A rotting carcass, the perfect morning meal. After breakfast, Pesky decides to take a stroll through several scenic garbage cans, and what do you know? Lunch! A pile of rotten meat. With a full belly, Pesky adds one more stop to his day—the beautiful blue house at the end of the block. In through the window, he goes. Upon entering, Pesky takes the tour. Venturing across the countertops, he puts his footprints in the mashed potatoes and continues exploring till the sun goes down.

Where Those Shoes Have Been

The story above was written for one purpose, to give a glimpse into where a flies feet have been. This is extremely important to consider when you are waving flies away from your food at the dinner table because on the tiny feet of that fly are microscopic bacteria he has picked up throughout the day, bacteria that can cause illness and disease. Typhoid, cholera, dysentery, and salmonella, to name a few. So always consider, a fly itself may be harmless, but what it carries on its body could be anything but harmless.

How to Keep Those Shoes Out

Now that you know where a fly’s “shoes” have been, naturally you would want to keep them out of your home. Here are some mistakes you may be making, which could be inadvertently inviting these unwanted guests into your home.

• Leaving doors and windows open for long periods of time
• Not fixing or replacing screens with holes or rips
• Using standard white light bulbs outside your home instead of sodium vapor lighting, which is less attractive to flies
• Keeping fruits and vegetables out on countertops rather than storing them inside the refrigerator
• Leaving unwashed dishes out overnight

How A Pest Professional Can Help

Here at Thomas Pest Services, our long-term service plans are designed for your distinct needs to not only get rid of flies from your home but to keep them out for good. If you have unwanted fly “shoes” walking about in your home, contact Thomas Pest. We're here to help.